Why are there so few Aboriginal Inventions? - the White Hat Guide

When the first Aboriginal people arrived in Australia over 40,000 years ago they were among the most technologically advanced people in the world at the time having made several over the horizon sea voyages to reach here. Yet by the time of European contact Aboriginal people had made very few technological advances and were still using stone tools in a metal rich country.

The $50 note

There is a certain irony that one of Australia's great inventors appears on the $50 note, because David Unaipon (1872-1967) was never able to attract enough money to have his inventions developed. Unaipon was of the Ngarrindjeri people, and his Myths and Legends of Australian Aboriginals (1930) was the first published book by an Aboriginal author. He was active as a spokesman for Aboriginal people and his inventions included a multi-radial wheel, a centrifugal motor and an improved shearing handpiece.At the first federal election in 1901, Unaipon was entitled to vote and become a member of parliament. Later changes in federal electoral law stripped him and other Aboriginal people of this right for many decades.

Why was this? It certainly wasn't due to lack of intelligence. Aboriginal people had a rich culture, a complex social structure and advanced skills that allowed them to survive in hostile environments as well as the qualities we have mentioned on What Makes a good Australian Inventor. Indeed, many Aboriginal people placed among European implements quickly became very inventive (see for example David Unaipon in the box on the right). The complex question of what environmental conditions lead to technological advances and inventiveness in certain societies and why these conditions did not exist in Aboriginal Australia is examined in Jared Diamond's excellent book, Gun Germs and Steel (see below).

Some notable Aboriginal inventions

Stone tools - Aboriginal people are thought to be the first to use
ground edges on stone cutting tools and the first to use stone tools to
grind seeds.

Boomerang - a throwing stick used for many purposes whose design
allows it to return to the (skilled) thrower.

Woomera - a spear throwing holder that acts as an extension of the
arm thus allowing greater power and range for the spear. "Woomera"
was adopted as an appropriate name for the rocket launching range and
associated settlement in outback South Australia.

Didgeridoo - a musical instrument whose sound is immediately
recognisable. It first appeared 2,000 or more years ago and at the time of
European arrival was used in the north western corner of Australia.

Guns, Germs and Steel

by Jared Diamond

This important book written by a person
Professor Tim Flannery
has called "the greatest living scientist" attempts to analyse why
different societies and races developed in different ways. Why did
certain societies excel in technology, inventiveness and the arts
while others remained static for many centuries? What enabled certain
races to over-run others. This is no simplistic racial supremacy
polemic, but a serious scientific attempt to analyse what conditions
allow certain peoples to flourish and what conditions might cause them
to languish.

The Australian Institute for Commercialisation
(AIC) is a leading service organisation helping innovators achieve
commercial success. Around Australia they help business, research
organisations and governments to convert their ideas into successful
outcomes.

Scienceworks in Melbourne, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney
and the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra provide
excellent resources in understanding Australian inventions and innovation.

The ABC television series Landline regularly features Australian
innovation and inventions. Unlike many gee-whiz pop science programs, Landline
usually provides thorough and unhysterical coverage of Australian
breakthroughs relating to country Australia together with their commercial
ramifications. (You do need to watch the Sunday or Monday morning broadcast however, rather
than the shortened Monday evening version.) Unfortunately, the same is not true
of the current series on the
ABC called The New Inventors. Made in infotainment style it chooses
to present only a cursory investigation of the invention and skates over the
top of the issues involved in successfully bringing an invention to market.
Many of the products presented are not really inventions but design
improvements, but any exposure in the media for creativity in such areas is
to be welcomed and applauded.

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to the accuracy of this information and takes no responsibility for
incorrect or incomplete information
or for actions based on the information in these pages, and accepts no
liability to any person or organisation for the information contained in
these pages.

White Hat works hard
to make information on these pages current and correct. However with
many thousands of entries, much of it changing daily, errors may occur.
Always verify the information by using the phone numbers supplied with
each event or venue before making a special trip or using this
information for any other purpose. If you believe some information is
incorrect, please contact us at
corrections@whitehat.com.au
and we will attempt to verify or change the information

DISCLAIMER: White Hat makes no claim as
to the accuracy of this information and takes no responsibility for
incorrect or incomplete information
or for actions based on the information in these pages, and accepts no
liability to any person or organisation for the information contained in
these pages.

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